Clinton County Republican Chairman Jim Moyer said the Lincoln Day Dinner held Thursday night at Arborwood was not only a big night for the candidates, but also a big night for the voters.
“This is the lead up to the primary election and we have a lot of contested races,” said Moyer. “This is a very important evening for people to get to know who their candidates are if they haven’t made up their minds as well as giving them one more opportunity to say I know that face.”
In all, there are 16 Republican candidates running the primary election in May, which will feature contested races for mayor and for five of the seven city council seats.
Moyer said both candidates and voters will have one last opportunity to get to know the people running in the election at the election forum coming on April 24, 25 and 30 at the Frankfort Middle School cafetorium.
“The forums are going to be here in April,” said Moyer. “That will give us an even better chance to get to know what the policies are of the folks who are running for office.”
Overall, Moyer was happy with the night.
“I think it was a wonderful evening,” he said. “We had a surprise that Congressman Jim Baird managed to here from Washington to be with us. We had our State Senator Brian Buchanan, our State Representatives Don Lehe and Heath VanNatter in addition to our speaker, our favorite Congressman, Todd Rokita.
Rokita is currently out of the political realm. He has joined Apex Benefits, a benefits strategy and services provider, as its General Counsel and Vice President of External Affairs. In this executive role, Rokita oversees corporate legal strategies and serves as a representative for Apex and an advocate for its customers by leading public policy initiatives throughout Indiana and the nation.
“It’s great to be back in Clinton County and see so many familiar faces,” said Rokita. “It’s been my highest honor to serve the people of this county and this state.”
Rokita added, “Clinton County continues to march up the ladder of success. You certainly have a lot to be proud of.”